FAA's chief watchdog says the aging air traffic control displays at four of the largest terminal control facilities need replacing urgently, and the agency can't afford to wait three years for the development of the state-of-the-art replacement.
AirTran yesterday unveiled plans to add seven new daily nonstop flights from Chicago Midway to five Florida destinations on the heels of several announcements from Southwest to sharply boost service at the airport.
Airbus recently won approval from the FAA, the European Aviation Safety Agency and Transport Canada to stretch the time between scheduled maintenance checks to lower costs for its airline customers.
Continental next year will launch new service between its Houston hub and the Texas border town of Del Rio. The flights will begin March 3, using SkyWest 30-seat Embraer EMB-120s. There will be one daily flight, and another daily except Saturday.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which took delivery of its 16th Boeing 777-200ER, is the first carrier in the Asia/Pacific region and the second in the world to have the Boeing electronic flight bag (EFB) installed on its aircraft. Another 777-200ER to be delivered to the airline next month will also be equipped with the device. KLM was the first carrier to opt for the EFB early this year.
AeroHonduras, controlled by Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela, this month will reinstate service from Honduras to Guatemala, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, reports DAILY affiliate AvNews Latin America & Caribbean. These routes will be served with two DC-9s incorporated into the airline's fleet by the parent company.
Magenta Air, Peruvian regional startup, received the first of four Boeing 737-200s to start domestic operations this month between Lima and Iquitos, Pucallpa and Tarapoto in the Amazon Basin. Peru is encouraging new airlines to increase capacity after Nuevo Continente's indefinite suspension. The new carrier will use its second 737 to launch new service to Arequipa, Cusco, Puerto Maldonado and Rio Branco in Brazil early next year.
FAA has the second-highest approval rating of the 10 government agencies listed in the latest Harris Poll. Of those polled, 77% said FAA is performing well, up from 76% last year and 54% in 2001. Only the Centers for Disease Control had a higher approval rating this year. The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security rated seventh of 10 with a 59% approval rating. The poll also said 88% of survey respondents understand what FAA does, compared with 86% for DHS. -AS
A national strike against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's economic policies will ground 136 Alitalia flights between 12 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time today, the Italian flag carrier said. Other airlines are also expected to be affected, as airport workers will join the stoppage.
Brazil's civil aviation department (DAC) has asked VASP for a copy of its updated operations plan, in advance of more troubles at the struggling carrier. VASP, dogged by a long and nagging financial slump, recently canceled as many as 50% of its routes and is cannibalizing aircraft to maintain the few planes it still operates (DAILY, Nov. 15).
Air China hopes to collect US$1 billion from its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and London next month, double an earlier projection made six months ago (DAILY, May 20). The IPO will start in Hong Kong next Monday (Dec. 6), and listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange is set for 10 days later. Air China was tight-lipped on the dates for its London IPO and listing.
Delta says it would provide 196,000 seats a year in its proposed Atlanta-Beijing nonstop flights, serving an estimated 163,000 passengers. Continental, American, Hawaiian and North American are also vying for the award of new China routes.
EasyJet appointed Jeff Carr, 43, as its new finance director. Carr replaces Chris Walton, who resigned earlier this year and will hand over his responsibilities to Carr at a date yet to be determined. Carr, who will start in his new position in early 2005, joins easyJet from Associated British Foods, where he was director-finance, performance and planning. -JF
Avianca and Delta are looking to expand their code-sharing partnership on flights that each carrier operates within Colombia and the U.S., respectively, effective February 2005. The carriers asked the U.S. Dept. of Transportation for permission to display Delta's code on Avianca's flights between any authorized Colombian gateway, instead of just Bogota, and any other authorized point in Colombia or Ecuador. In turn, Delta would display Avianca's code on its flights between Avianca's authorized U.S. gateways and New York.
Kansai International Airport Co. (KIAC) emerged from a massive JPY4.92 billion loss last year to post a JPY3.32 billion profit (US$32 million) for the first six months ended Sept. 30, its first since the airport opened for operations in 1995. As a result, plans to build a second runway at the airport will go forward, KIAC President Atsushi Murayama said.
Congress last week restored $10 million to a satellite navigation program that was one of the major casualties of FAA's capital spending budget cuts. All funding for the local area augmentation system (LAAS) was cut in the agency's Fiscal Year 2005 budget request, and the House version of the transportation appropriations bill also included no money for the program. The Senate, however, recommended $10 million for LAAS, and this amount was inked into the final bill.
The Transportation Security Administration named San Antonio's Federal Security Director Leopoldo Vasquez as the acting FSD at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers. Vasquez replaces Douglas Perkins, the FSD at Southwest Florida since 2002. TSA expects to appoint a permanent FSD "in the coming weeks," the agency said.
On the heels of the government's announcement to give financial aid to state-owned Tans (DAILY, Nov. 11), the Peruvian carrier revealed plans to launch new service from Lima to Tumbes. The service is expected to fill the vacuum left by Nuevo Continente's suspension (DAILY, Nov. 1). To fulfill its original objective of serving destinations not covered by commercial airlines, Tans also plans to expand to Piura, Juliaca and Tacna in response to requests from consumers, travel agents and business travelers. -LZ
To list an event, send information to Ron Brown at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing in PDF format.) NOV. 24 -- The Society of Automotive Engineers, World Aviation Congress, Hilton Hotel, Reno, Nev., 800-441-2919, e-mail [email protected] DEC. 2 -- International Air Service Seminar, Fairmont Washington, Washington, D.C., 202-293-8500x 3019, e-mail [email protected]
Standard & Poor's last week took a more optimistic view of Delta, revising its outlook to "positive," following the airline's decision to go ahead only with the short-term securities portion of its public bond exchange and not complete tenders for intermediate and long-term securities that the agency "would have viewed as distressed exchanges."
As part of its ongoing restructuring program, Air Canada is again looking at Argentina as an attractive market. Visiting Buenos Aires recently, Duncan Lee, one of the carrier's VPs, told reporters that "the economic recovery in this region and the U.S. decision to require in-transit visas led us to focus on Latin America."
Lufthansa Systems Group last week appointed Wolfgang Gohde its new CEO, succeeding Peter Franke, who will retire April, 1, 2005, after 10 years in the position.
